Mystical systems
Birthstone
Direct answer
Birthstone: A birthstone is the gem assigned to the month of a person's birth. The idea grew from the twelve stones of the priestly breastplate in Exodus, and the modern list dates from 1912.
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At a glance
- Also called
- birth stone
- Found in
- Mystical Systems
- Related
- Lapidary, Zodiac, Amulet, Magical Correspondences
A birthstone is the gem assigned to the month of a person's birth. The idea grew from the twelve stones of the priestly breastplate in Exodus, and the modern list dates from 1912.
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What is a birthstone?
A birthstone is a gem linked with a month of the year and worn by those born in it. The usual modern list runs: garnet for January, amethyst for February, aquamarine for March, diamond for April, emerald for May, pearl for June, ruby for July, peridot for August, sapphire for September, opal for October, topaz for November and turquoise for December, with alternatives for several months.
The custom is partly old lore and partly trade. The idea of twelve significant stones is ancient, but the list in use was drawn up by jewellers, and it has been revised more than once to add stones that were easier to sell.
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What sets Birthstone apart
The birthstone is a tradition with a committee date. Twelve stones, twelve tribes, twelve months and twelve signs were matched in different ways for centuries, with no agreed list. The older custom, Kunz reports, was to own all twelve and wear each in its month. The single stone for one's own month is modern, and the list that fixed it was voted on by a trade association in Kansas City, which later revised it to bring in newer gems.
- Biblical root: the twelve stones of the breastplate, Exodus 28:17 to 20
- Linked to months: by Josephus, first century CE
- Standard list: American National Retail Jewelers Association, 1912
- Later additions: tanzanite for December, 2002; spinel for August, 2016
- February and July: amethyst and ruby
- Older alternative: lists that go by the sign of the zodiac and not the month
Often mistaken for something else: A zodiac stone is matched to the sign the Sun was in at birth; a birthstone is matched to the calendar month, so two people of one sign can have different birthstones.
The story behind Birthstone
Exodus describes a breastplate for the high priest set with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. In the first century Josephus connected the twelve with the months and the signs of the zodiac. George Frederick Kunz traced the habit of wearing the single stone of one's own month to eighteenth-century Poland. The American National Retail Jewelers Association fixed a standard list in 1912; tanzanite was added in 2002 and spinel in 2016.
Why Birthstone matters
Birthstone is the piece of stone lore most people already own, and its history shows how belief and commerce shaped each other.
How to read Birthstone
People choose a birthstone as a personal emblem or a gift; astrologers sometimes prefer the older lists that go by sign.
Birthstone in practice: an example
Someone born in February who keeps an amethyst on the desk is following a custom a few centuries old that rests on a much older set of twelve.
Where readings of Birthstone go wrong
A birthstone is a keepsake and a symbol; no stone has been shown to protect or to heal the person who wears it.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Mystical Systems
- Aliases
- birthstones by month, birthstone meaning, what is my birthstone, birthstone list, birth stone
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
See Birthstone in your personal almanac
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Common questions
What is a birthstone?
It is the gem assigned to the month in which a person was born. The list most shops use was agreed by American jewellers in 1912.
Where do birthstones come from?
From the twelve stones on the high priest's breastplate in Exodus, which Josephus linked with the months and the zodiac. Wearing only the stone of one's own month is a later custom.
Why do some months have more than one birthstone?
Because the list has been revised. Jewellers added alternatives over the years, among them alexandrite for June, tanzanite for December in 2002 and spinel for August in 2016.
